The third Alpha version of the upcoming Ubuntu 11.10 (Oneiric Ocelot) operating system was made available for   testing by the Ubuntu developers. As usual, we've grabbed a copy of it in order to keep you up-to-date with the latest  changes in the Ubuntu 11.10 development.

What's new in Ubuntu 11.10 Alpha 3? Well, Ubuntu 11.10 Alpha 3 is now powered by the latest stable version of Linux kernel 3.0 and the GNOME 3.1.4 desktop environment. The kernel in Ubuntu 11.10 Alpha 3 has the following features:

· Rebase to upstream v3.0 final kernel;
· Enabled Overlayfs;
· Enabled Realtek RTL8192CU/RTL8188CU Wi-Fi driver;
· Enabled support for rt53xx wireless chipset family;
· Enabled Intellimouse mode for Lenovo Zhaoyang E47;
· Numerous config updates.

Mozilla Thunderbird 6.0 is now the default email client and Mozilla Firefox 6.0 is the default web browser. Unity menu and launcher integration has also been added for Thunderbird.

Mozilla Thunderbird 6.0 under Ubuntu 11.10 Alpha 3

Mozilla Firefox 6.0 under Ubuntu 11.10 Alpha 3

Last but not least, a lot of new options for a pleasant desktop experience have been added to the power indicator, such aseasy access to setup your monitor, bluetooth devices, startup applications, printers, USB devices, and system updates.

Ubuntu Software Center got a new "top rated" views feature to all the subcategory pages and the main category page. Moreover, installing individual deb files is a lot faster now.

On October 13th, 2011, Ubuntu 11.10 (Oneiric Ocelot) will become the fifthteenth release of the Ubuntu operating system. See you again in about one month (September 1st), for the first Beta release of the upcoming Ubuntu 11.10 (Oneiric Ocelot).

The Oneiric Ocelot Release Schedule: 
June 2nd, 2011 - Alpha 1 release
July 7th, 2011 - Alpha 2 release
August 4th, 2011 - Alpha 3 release
September 1st, 2011 - Beta 1 release
September 22nd, 2011 - Beta 2 release
October 13th, 2011 - Final release of Ubuntu 11.10